2. Unit 1 | Lesson 3
Upgrade
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Discuss issues and agree strongly
Lesson overview
1. GET STARTED: How do you like to communicate?
2. LISTENING: We need an upgrade!
3. PREPARE FOR SPEAKING: Pronunciation: Listening for main stress
4. SPEAKING SKILLS: Discuss issues and agree strongly
5. SPEAKING: Is new technology always better?
6. PROGRESS CHECK
3. How do you like to communicate?
GET STARTED
Do you prefer to communicate with family and friends via text, email, video chat, or
phone? Why?
4. Listen to the conversation between
co-workers Shawn and Lorena.
What are their opinions about
technology in the workplace?
Who do you agree with more, Shawn
or Lorena? Why?
We need an upgrade!
LISTENING
USEFUL LANGUAGE
In my opinion, . . .
I (don’t) agree that . . .
I feel that . . .
I agree with Shawn / Lorena that . . .
5. Pronunciation: Listening for main stress
PREPARE FOR SPEAKING
Listen to the conversation again and notice the words that are stressed.
Why do you think these words are stressed?
Shawn All this technology was supposed to help us be more efficient, but it’s
become terribly time-consuming instead.
Lorena I couldn’t agree more. Let’s ban email and go back to pen and paper.
Shawn Right on, sister. We could use phones again for what they were invented to
do – making phone calls.
Lorena Why stop there? Let’s bring back fax machines.
6. Practice the conversation with a partner. Put stress on
the words that are underlined.
Pronunciation: Listening for main stress
PREPARE FOR SPEAKING
Shawn All this technology was supposed to help us be more
efficient, but it’s become terribly time-consuming
instead.
Lorena I couldn’t agree more. Let’s ban email and go back to
pen and paper.
Shawn Right on, sister. We could use phones again for what
they were invented to do – making phone calls.
Lorena Why stop there? Let’s bring back fax machines!
7. Look at the statements from Shawn and Lorena’s
conversation. Which statements discuss issues (D)?
Which ones show strong agreement (A)?
1. When it comes to technology, you can rely on the server to
be unreliable. ___
2. That’s so true! ___
3. You can say that again. ___
4. I couldn’t agree more. ___
5. Looking at the big picture, I think email isn’t that bad. ___
6. Overall, if I had to choose . . . ___
Discuss issues and agree strongly
SPEAKING SKILLS
8. Work in small groups. Take turns making comments about the topics using When it
comes to . . . and expressions to agree strongly.
Discuss issues and agree strongly
SPEAKING SKILLS
Topics
When it comes to . . .
technology at the workplace, . . .
the environment, . . .
relationships, . . .
staying healthy, . . .
Expressions to agree strongly
That’s so true!
You can say that again.
I couldn’t agree more.
I’m totally with you on that.
When it comes to technology at
the workplace, I think it makes
people more efficient.
I couldn’t agree more! People are much
more productive at the office thanks to
technology such as emails and chats.
9. Role-play the three-person conversation
below. As you speak, remember to stress
the main words in word groups.
Is new technology always better?
SPEAKING
A Technology is definitely driving people apart.
Everyone just looks at their screens all the
time. No one talks anymore. Don’t you think?
B You can say that again! Families don’t even
talk on the phone anymore.
C That’s true, but I feel like they’re still
communicating. It’s just changed.
10. Work in small groups. Discuss the topic below.
Use language from the box to help you.
New technology is not always better. People today
spend too much time with technology.
Is new technology always better?
SPEAKING
Useful language
Discuss issues
When it comes to . . . ,
Looking at the big picture, . . .
Overall, . . .
Agree strongly
That’s so true!
You can say that again.
I couldn’t agree more.
Disagree politely
I see your point, but . . .
12. Thank you!
Unit 1 | Lesson 3
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Discuss issues and agree strongly
Upgrade
Notes de l'éditeur
Lesson 1.3
For this lesson, you will need:
this PowerPoint presentation
time for lesson: 45 minutes
You will need: this slide
Time: 1–2 minutes
F2F classes
Welcome students (Ss) to the class by asking them social questions as they enter the classroom and get settled, e.g., How are you? How’s your day?
Show this slide and tell Ss to focus on the photo. Ask them to describe what the woman is doing.
Read the title of the lesson and the objective.
Virtual classes
Welcome students (Ss) to the class by asking them social questions as they join the lesson, e.g., How are you? How’s your day? This will encourage Ss to activate their microphones or use the chat box, which will help you identify and troubleshoot any technical problems before the lesson begins.
Show this slide and tell Ss to focus on the photo. Ask them to describe what the woman is doing. Have Ss write their ideas in the chat box.
Read the title of the lesson and the objective.
LESSON OVERVIEW – notes for teacher with slide numbers
GET STARTED: How do you like to communicate? (slide 3)
LISTENING: We need an upgrade! (slide 4)
PREPARE FOR SPEAKING: Pronunciation: Listening for main stress (slides 5–6)
SPEAKING SKILLS: Discuss issues and agree strongly (slides 7–8)
SPEAKING: Is new technology always better? (slides 9–10)
PROGRESS CHECK (slide 11)
Time: 1 minute
F2F/Virtual classes
Show this slide and read through the overview with the class.
Stage 1: GET STARTED (slide 3)
Aim: activate the topic of the lesson
You will need: this slide
Time: 4 minutes
F2F classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions and questions on the slide.
Model response for Ss by telling them how you prefer to communicate and why you think it’s best.
Ask Who prefers to communicate with family and friends via text? Ask Ss for a show of hands. Repeat for email, video chat, and phone.
Call on individual Ss to give reasons for their preferences.
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions and questions on the slide.
Model response for Ss by telling how you prefer to communicate and why you think it’s best.
Tell Ss to write their preferences in the chat box.
Call on three or four individual Ss to activate their microphones and share the reasons for their preferences with the class.
Stage 2: LISTENING (slide 4)
Aims:
listen for opinions
express opinions and agree / disagree strongly
You will need: this slide
Time: 7 minutes
F2F classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions and questions on the slide. Explain to Ss that they will now listen to a conversation between two co-workers Shawn and Lorena. (Ss already worked with this listening in the asynchronous course, but they will now be using the audio and ideas to develop more speaking skills.)
Tell Ss to look at the photo. Ask if they can identify the device (a fax machine) and tell what it does. If necessary, explain that a fax machine is an older technology that allows people to scan copies of documents and send them to others over a telephone line.
Play the audio. Play it again, if necessary.
Ask What are their opinions about technology in the workplace? Elicit answers from the class. Encourage them to use phrases from the box in their responses. Confirm understanding.
Ask Do you agree more with Shawn or Lorena? Why? Encourage them to use phrases from the box in their responses. Call on two or three volunteers to share their opinions. Tell Ss to raise their hands if they agree with the speaker.
Answers:
Lorena thinks we get too many useless emails that waste our time. She believes fax machines could be a possible solution.
Shawn didn’t think using fax machines would solve the problem because it wasted people’s time waiting in line and it wasted paper.
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions and questions on the slide. Explain to Ss that they will now listen to a conversation between two co-workers Shawn and Lorena. (Ss already worked with this listening in the asynchronous course, but they will now be using the audio and ideas to develop more speaking skills.)
Tell Ss to look at the photo. Ask if they can identify the device (a fax machine). Have them write their answers in the chat box. If necessary, explain that a fax machine is an older technology that allows people to scan copies of documents and send them to others over a telephone line.
Play the audio. Play it again, if necessary.
Ask What is Lorena’s opinion about emails and fax machines? Have Ss write their answers in the chat box. Encourage them to use phrases from the box in their responses. Then ask What is Shawn’s opinion about fax machines? Ss write their answers in the chat box. Confirm understanding.
Ask Do you agree more with Shawn or Lorena? Why? Call on two or three volunteers to activate their microphones and share their ideas with the class. Encourage them to use phrases from the box in their responses. Instruct the other Ss to use their voting buttons to say whether they agree or disagree with the speaker.
Answers:
Lorena thinks we get too many useless emails that waste our time. She believes fax machines could be a possible solution.
Shawn didn’t think using fax machines would solve the problem because it wasted people’s time waiting in line and it wasted paper.
Audio script
Lorena Did you get any emails this morning?
Shawn No.
Lorena Me neither.
Shawn That’s strange.
Lorena Yeah, my inbox is usually full by this time in the morning. I wonder if the server’s down.
Shawn Probably. When it comes to technology, you can rely on the server to be unreliable.
Lorena Actually, if nobody’s emailing me, and I can’t send emails, I can get some real work done. Result!
Shawn That’s so true. How many emails are we copied into every day when we don’t need to be?
Lorena Too many.
Shawn It’s such a waste of time.
Lorena You can say that again.
Shawn All this technology was supposed to help us be more efficient, but it’s become terribly time-consuming instead.
Lorena I couldn’t agree more. Let’s ban email and go back to pen and paper.
Shawn Right on, sister. We could use phones again for what they were invented to do – making phone calls.
Lorena Why stop there? Let’s bring back fax machines.
Shawn Fax machines. Now there’s a blast from the past. I hate emails too, but I’m not sure going back to the fax machine is the answer. I remember the line of people waiting to use the single fax machine we had in our office in my first ever job. If the guy in front of you was sending a thirty-page document . . . that was pretty frustrating. And don’t forget about all that paper! Looking at the big picture, I think email isn’t that bad.
Lorena Generally speaking, you could be right . . .
Shawn Is there going to be a “but”?
Lorena Here’s my theory: people usually choose the easy option. Right?
Shawn Uh-huh.
Lorena Many emails are sent because it’s an easy solution to a problem. Something doesn’t work? Tell ten people about it. It’s easier than trying to work out why the thing doesn’t work. Can’t find a document that was sent to you two weeks ago? Email someone, because it’s quicker to do than looking for the original document. What I mean is, people are lazy, and email helps with that.
Shawn I see your point. But, overall, if I had to choose between an inbox full of useless emails and a line at the fax machine, I think I’d still choose email.
Lorena Have it your way! So, we should let IT know about the server.
Shawn Yeah. Should we call them or write a letter?
Stage 3: PREPARE FOR SPEAKING (slides 5–6)
Aim: listen for and practice main stress
Total time for stage: 6 minutes
You will need: this slide
Time: 3 minutes
F2F classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions and questions on the slide.
Play the audio.
Elicit answers from the class.
Remind Ss that English does not stress every word equally and speech is broken up into different word groups with each group containing a main, stressed word.
Read the last line of the conversation aloud to model the stressed words and have the class repeat.
Answer:
The words are stressed because they represent the main information the speaker wants to communicate. They are said louder, longer, and with a change of pitch.
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions and questions on the slide.
Play the audio.
Elicit answers from the class by having Ss write them in the chat box.
Remind Ss that English does not stress every word equally and speech is broken up into different word groups with each group containing a main, stressed word.
Read the last line of the conversation aloud to model the stressed words. Instruct Ss to keep their microphones muted and repeat after you.
Answer:
The words are stressed because they represent the main information the speaker wants to communicate. They are said louder, longer, and with a change of pitch.
Stage 3: PREPARE FOR SPEAKING (slides 5–6)
Aim: listen for and practice main stress
You will need: this slide
Time: 3 minutes
F2F classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions on the slide.
Pair work:
Put Ss into pairs. Ss role-play the conversation. Then have Ss to switch roles so they can practice both parts.
Give pairs 2 minutes to complete the activity.
Circulate and give feedback on pronunciation, if necessary.
Whole class:
Call on one or two pairs to role-play the conversation.
Provide feedback on pauses (between word groups) and stress on main words.
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions on the slide.
Call on two confident volunteers to activate their microphones and role-play the conversation for the class. Listen closely to how they stress the underlined words. After they finish, give feedback, if necessary, on pauses between word groups and stress on main words.
Repeat with one or two more pairs. You may wish to encourage the rest of the class to practice along with them but remind them to keep their microphones muted.
Stage 4: SPEAKING SKILLS (slides 7–8)
Aims:
identify and use language to discuss issues
identify and use language to agree strongly
Total time for stage: 11 minutes
You will need: this slide
Time: 3 minutes
F2F classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions on the slide.
Read one item at a time. Elicit the answers from the class.
Check answers as a class.
Answers:
D
A
A
A
D
D
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions on the slide.
Read one item at a time. have Ss write their answers in the chat box.
Check answers as a class.
Answers:
D
A
A
A
D
D
Stage 4: SPEAKING SKILLS (slides 7–8)
Aims:
identify and use language to discuss issues
identify and use language to agree strongly
You will need: this slide
Time: 8 minutes
F2F classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions on the slide.
Tell Ss they will be working in groups of three to practice discussing issues and agreeing strongly. Ss will take turns making comments about topics. They will give an opinion beginning with When it comes to .... The other two Ss in the group will each agree strongly. Groups must comment on all four topics in the Topics box. Ss should focus on using the expressions. Tell the class they’ll get to debate one topic in more detail later in the lesson.
Model the activity. Choose one of the topics and read your sentence aloud. Call on two volunteers to agree strongly with your opinion. Encourage them to support their comment with a specific reason or example.
Group work:
Put Ss into groups of three.
Give Ss 5 minutes to complete the activity. Remind them to take turns being Student A.
Circulate and take notes on any language errors.
Give Ss a 1-minute warning before time is up.
Whole Class
Provide feedback on Ss’ use of expressions to discuss issues and agree strongly.
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions on the slide.
Tell Ss they will be working in groups of three to practice discussing issues and agreeing strongly. Ss will take turns making comments about topics. They will give an opinion beginning with When it comes to . . . . The other two Ss in the group will each agree strongly. Groups must comment on all four topics in the Topics box. Ss should focus on using the expressions. Tell the class they’ll get to debate one topic in more detail later in the lesson.
Model the activity. Say, e.g., When it comes to the environment, small actions like planting a tree can make a big difference. Call on one or two volunteers to use the language in the Student B and Student C box to strongly agree. Encourage them to support their comment with a specific reason or example.
Have Ss take a photo or screenshot of the slide before going into their breakout rooms.
Group work:
Put Ss into three-person breakout rooms.
Give Ss 5 minutes to complete the activity. Remind them to take turns being Student A.
Visit breakout rooms and take notes on any language errors.
Whole class:
Provide feedback on Ss’ use of expressions to discuss issues and agree strongly.
Stage 5: SPEAKING (slides 9–10)
Aims:
discuss the pros and cons of technology
respond to opinions with strong agreement
practice word stress
Total time for stage: 11–12 minutes
You will need: this slide
Time: 3 minutes
F2F classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions on the slide. Tell Ss that they will now combine the expressions they just practiced with word stress.
Direct Ss’ attention to the conversation on the slide. Ask Which words do we need to stress and why? (The main nouns and verbs because they are the most important words and/or the words that give new information). Confirm understanding.
Call on three volunteers to read the sample conversation on the slide. Remind them to pause between word groups (/) and to stress main words:
Technology is definitely driving people apart. / Everyone just looks at their screens all the time. / No one talks anymore. / Don’t you think?
You can say that again! / Families don’t even talk on the phone anymore.
That’s true, / but I feel like they’re still communicating. / It’s just changed.
Give volunteers feedback as necessary. Model word stress and/or pauses, if necessary.
Tell Ss to think about whether they agree with the ideas in the conversation. Explain that they will now talk about the benefits and drawbacks of technology in groups. Go to the next slide.
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions on the slide. Tell Ss that they will now combine the expressions they just practiced with word stress.
Direct Ss’ attention to the conversation on the slide. Ask Which words do we need to stress and why? (The main nouns and verbs because they are the most important words and/or the words that give new information). Have Ss write their ideas in the chat box. Confirm understanding.
Call on three volunteers to activate their microphones and read the sample conversation on the slide. Remind them to pause between word groups (/) and to stress main words:
Technology is definitely driving people apart. / Everyone just looks at their screens all the time. / No one talks anymore. / Don’t you think?
You can say that again! / Families don’t even talk on the phone anymore.
That’s true, / but I feel like they’re still communicating. / It’s just changed.
Give volunteers feedback as necessary. Model the word stress and/or pauses, if necessary.
Tell Ss to think about whether they agree with the ideas in the conversation. Explain that they will now talk about the benefits and drawbacks of technology in groups. Go to the next slide.
Stage 5: SPEAKING (slides 9–10)
Aims:
discuss the pros and cons of social media
respond to opinions with strong agreement
You will need: this slide
Time: 8–9 minutes
F2F classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions and topic on the slide.
Explain to Ss that they will debate the issue in groups. Remind them to use the expressions in the box. Encourage them to pause between word groups and to stress important content words (nouns, verbs).
Group work:
Give Ss 7–8 minutes to discuss the topic in groups.
Circulate and monitor. Take notes on any language you’d like to review afterward.
Whole class:
Review any language errors or give any relevant feedback.
Congratulate the class on discussing technology issues and using expressions to agree.
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Read the instructions and topics on the slide.
Explain to Ss that they will debate the issue in groups. Remind them to use the expressions in the box. Encourage them to pause between word groups and to stress important content words (nouns, verbs).
Give Ss the option to take a screenshot or photo of the slide before going into their breakout rooms.
Put Ss into three- or four-person breakout rooms.
Group work:
Give Ss 8 minutes to practice their role-plays.
Visit breakout rooms. Take notes on any language you’d like to review afterward.
Whole class:
Review any language errors or give any relevant feedback.
Congratulate the class on discussing technology issues and using expressions to agree.
Stage 6: PROGRESS CHECK (slide 11)
Aim: review the objectives of the lesson
You will need: this slide
Time: 1 minute
F2F classes
Whole class:
Ask Ss to look at the two can-do statements. Congratulate the class on achieving the lesson objectives. Add two big check marks to the boxes on the board.
Virtual classes
Whole class:
Show the slide with the lesson objectives. Congratulate the class on achieving the lesson objectives. Ask Ss to use their annotation tools to check the boxes on the screen.
Thank Ss and give them any reminders about upcoming work. Then say goodbye and end the lesson.